GUIDANCE FOR PATIENTS
If you have a complaint or concern about the service you have received from the doctors or any of the staff working in this practice, please let us know.
How to complain
We hope that most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time that they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way and you wish to make a complaint, we would like you to let us know as soon as possible – ideally, within a matter of days or at most a few weeks – because this will enable us to establish what happened more easily. If it is not possible to do that, please let us have details of your complaint:
- Within 12 months of the incident that caused the problem; or
- Within 12 months of when the complaint comes to your notice
Complaints should be addressed in writing to the Practice Manager or any of the Doctors. Alternatively you may fill in a complaints form, available at the reception desk. It will be a great help if you are as specific as possible about your complaint.
What shall we do when we receive your complaint
Our complaints process has 2 stages:
Stage 1 – early resolution
This stage is for issues that are straightforward and easily resolved, requiring little or no investigation. Any member of staff can deal with your complaint at this stage. This could mean an immediate apology and an explanation if something has gone wrong and we can take immediate action to resolve the problem.
If it is not something that can be resolved at the time we may need to make some enquiries. We will aim to respond to you within 5 working days following receipt of your complaint. If you are dissatisfied with our response you can ask us to escalate your complaint to Stage 2.
Stage 2 –investigation
For issues that cannot be resolved at the early resolution stage that are complex, serious or high risk and will need detailed investigation.
We will acknowledge your complaint within 3 working days and aim to respond your complaint within 20 working days of the date when you raised it with us. If investigations are expected to take longer than 20 working days we shall inform you.
In investigating your complaint, we shall aim to:
- Find out what happened and what went wrong.
- Ensure you receive an apology, where this is appropriate.
- Identify what we can do to make sure the problem doesn’t happen again.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
Please note that we keep strictly to the rules of confidentiality. If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we have to know that you have his or her permission to do so. Consent by the person concerned will be required, unless they are incapable (because of illness or infirmity) of providing this.
Confidentiality
All complaints will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Patient Advice and Support Service
Patients can access the above service provided by Citizens Advice Scotland who can provide you with confidential, practical and emotional support and help you to understand your rights and responsibilities. You can contact them via their website www.cas.org.uk or call them on 0800 917 2127.
Your rights if you are still not satisfied
We hope that, if you have a problem, you will make use of our practice complaints procedure. We believe this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our Practice. If you are dissatisfied with the result of our investigation you can contact the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman and ask them to look at your case. The SPSO investigates complaints about most organisations providing public services in Scotland.
Freepost
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
Bridgeside House, 99 McDonald Road, Edinburgh, EH7 4NS(you do not need a stamp)
Tel 0800 3777330
www.spso.org.uk